Ferndale High School Golden EaglesChess Club |
As Big As You Think |
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 Go On and PlayThe simplest and still the best way to play is against a real live human. So come to club, go to tournaments, grab your dad or classmate at lunch and sit down to a good game. You could catch a quick game online against various computers, such as the Little Chess Partner or the Chess Toolbox or the freaky Thinking Machine 4 (watch it think!) Then you can play at home using a dedicated computer program. For example, the Chessmaster series (now in it's 10th edition) is an excellent program not merely to play against, but to learn from via its great tutorials. Coach recommends it! (Download the free demo.) Millions of chessplayers enjoy playing online against each other, live, at various online chess clubs. High schoolers tend to gravitate towards the quick-loading servers like Yahoo! Chess, although coach doesn't recommend these java-based servers due to the frequency of cheating and vulgarities. Instead, go for the moderated clubs that require installation of a small program, or interface, such as Playchess.com or the Internet Chess Club. You can play free as a guest, or pay a yearly fee for all the benefits, like a rating, tournament access, video lessons, etc. Another way to play against other humans is what we used to call "correspondence" chess, then it was called "email" chess, and now it's web based. You make a move on the hosting website (such as SchemingMind.com or Chessworld.net, and come back the next day or so to see what your opponent played. This type of chess is great to develop your skill, because you can take your time, consider all the alternatives, and consider your opponent's possible responses. The "time control" may vary from one move a day to one move every thirty days, depending on what you've agreed upon. You can play strangers or your uncle in Chattahoochee, Georgia.
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